Houston Challenge
Date: Feb. 22-24
Location: Houston, Texas
Tournament Schedule | KSU Notes

LEADING OFF 
» The Kennesaw State softball team resumes tournament action this weekend when it travels to Texas to compete in the Houston Challenge hosted by the University of Houston.
» The Owls (2-7) open against Northern Illinois at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Friday and will return to action later in the day to face Incarnate Word at 2 p.m. (ET). 
» Saturday's action features KSU taking on Incarnate Word at 11:30 a.m. (ET) and meeting Houston at 7 p.m. (ET). The Owls will close out play with a second game against Houston Sunday at 1 p.m. (ET). 
» Live stats for all games can be accessed via KSUOwls.com. Both contests versus Houston will be streamed through KSUOwls.com.
 
GAME DAY STORYLINES         
» The Owls are 2-7 on the season and coming an impressive 7-0 victory over Chattanooga Saturday at the Chattanooga Challenge. KSU posted a 1-3 mark in the tournament.
» Kennesaw State is in its first season under the direction of first-year head coach Tripp MacKay. MacKay took over the reign from Pete D'Amour who left to take the head coaching position at Virginia Tech. The Owls' rookie head coach comes to Kennesaw after spending the previous two seasons at the University of Texas where he helped the Longhorns to a 66-52 record and a pair of NCAA Regional appearances.
» Prior to his stint in Austin, MacKay served nine seasons at the University of Oklahoma and was instrumental in helping the Sooners advance to postseason play each year and make three Women's College World Series appearances.
» The Owls reached new heights in 2018 season as they posted a 39-17 overall record, including a 14-3 mark in ASUN Conference play. KSU captured the outright regular-season and conference tournament titles and advanced to NCAA Division I Regional play for the first time in program history.
» For the first time since moving to the NCAA Division I level in 2006, the Owls appeared in the national rankings. Kennesaw State received 21 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll to finish the year ranked No. 27.
» Kennesaw State also had a strong show in the RPI Rankings, finishing the year at No. 43.

THE ROSTER
The Owls return 16 letter winners, including five starters from a year ago and have added seven newcomers to the roster. Highlighting the list of returners are seniors Maddie Roth (NFCA Third Team All-American), Kira Czyrklis (First Team All-ASUN), junior Olivia Gocke (Second Team All-ASUN) and sophomore Lexi Solorzano (ASUN All-Freshman).
 
NORTHERN ILLINOIS SCOUTING REPORT
The Huskies begin the week 6-4 and are coming off a 3-2 record at the Campbell Cartier Classic in San Diego. NIU is batting .297 as a team and has a collective team ERA of 2.08. The Huskies have six players batting .300 or better and are led by sophomore Kira Mickelson, who is batting .522. Senior outfielder Jenny Van Geetry ranks second on the club with a .419 average and has a team-leading four home runs. Sophomore Mackenzie Bryan has a 4-2 record, 1.56 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 27 innings to lead NIU in the circle.
 
SERIES VERSUS NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Kennesaw State and Northern Illinois have met one previous time and the Huskies recorded a 2-1 victory in 2015.
 
INCARNATE WORD SCOUTING REPORT
The Cardinals are seeking their first win after opening the season 0-5. Incarnate Word had last weekend off after beginning the season at the Ragin' Cajuns Classic in Lafayette, La. The Cardinals are batting .164 as a team and have 10.55 team ERA.
 
SERIES VERSUS INCARNATE WORD
Kennesaw State and Incarnate Word will meet for the first time this weekend.
 
HOUSTON SCOUTING REPORT
The Cougars hosted the Houston Classic last weekend and posted a 3-2 mark against Maryland (1-1), Nevada (1-0), Nicholls State (0-1) and Louisiana-Monroe (1-0). Houston has won two in a row, including a 7-2 home victory over McNeese on Wednesday. The Cougars have players batting .300 or better and are led by Chareese Wyatt, who is batting .462 with a home run and team-leading eight RBIs. Pressley Bell has a 3-0 record and 0.64 ERA to lead Houston in the circle.  
 
SERIES VERSUS HOUSTON
Kennesaw State and Houston will meet for the first time this weekend.
 
SENIOR JESSIE MULLEN HONORED
Senior shortstop Jessie Mullen was honored on Feb. 15 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida as the 2019 All Sports Association of Northwest Florida Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year. Mullen prepped at Niceville High School in Niceville, Florida.
 
OFFENISVE OUTPUT
» The Owls lead the ASUN Conference in slugging percentage (.460) and home runs (10), are second in on-base percentage (.384), runs scored (40), RBIs (37), doubles (12) and total bases (110).
» Senior Maddie Roth leads KSU and is seventh in the ASUN with a .407 average. She also is fourth in on-base percentage (.515), third in runs scored (7) and tied for fifth in slugging percentage (.667) and hits (11).
» Senior Kira Czyrklis, who leads the ASUN Conference with 21 total bases, ranks 10th in the conference in average (.370), on-base percentage (.438), tied for seventh in hits (10), tied for fifth in RBIs (6), tied for fourth in doubles (3) and tied for third in home runs (2).
» Sophomore Lexi Solorzano is tied for the ASUN Conference lead after homering in each of her last four games. She also ranks second in total bases (20).
 
IN THE CIRCLE
» Junior Abby Deane and senior Hailey Andrews have recorded each of the Owls' wins.
» Andrews leads KSU and is tied for sixth in the ASUN with 21 strikeouts, and is fourth in the conference with a team-leading 24 2/3 innings pitched.
 
KSU PICKED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Kennesaw State, which begins the season as the reigning ASUN Conference regular-season and conference tournament champion, was voted to finish third by the league's coaches after receiving one first-place vote and 47 points. ASUN newcomer Liberty earned the poll's top spot, garnering five first-place votes and 61 points. FGCU was picked second after receiving two first-place votes and 56 points.

ASUN Preseason Rankings

Rank	Team (First Place Votes)	Votes
1.	Liberty (5)	61
2.	FGCU (2)	56
3.	Kennesaw State (1)	47
4.	Lipscomb	44
5.	North Florida	24
6.	Jacksonville	22
7.	North Alabama	20
8.	Stetson	14

THREE OWLS EARN PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
The Kennesaw State softball team had three individuals named to the 2019 ASUN Conference Preseason All-Conference team following a vote of the conference coaches.
 
Seniors Kira Czyrklis and Maddie Roth were selected at the outfield and utility positions, respectively, while sophomore catcher Lexi Solorzano was a unanimous pick.
 
KSU VERSUS TOP 75 RPI TEAMS
Kennesaw State, which held a Top 50 RPI ranking for most of the 2018 season, fared well against teams appearing in the RPI's top 75. The Owls recorded an 11-9 mark against nine teams - No. 8 Georgia (0-1), No. 18 Hofstra (0-1), No. 20 Auburn (0-2), No. 29 Liberty (1-1), No. 39 FGCU (3-1), No. 54 Lipscomb (2-0), No. 61 USC Upstate (3-1), No. 62 DePaul (0-2) and No. 65 Georgia State (2-0).
 
ASUN NO. 6 IN RPI RANKINGS
The ASUN Conference was one of the top conferences in the country during the 2018 season, ranking sixth in the final 2018 RPI rankings. The ASUN ranked behind only the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, American Athletic Conference and ACC.
 
ALL-AMERICAN STATUS
Junior utility Maddie Roth became the first Kennesaw State Division I softball player to earn garner All-American honors when she was named to the third team by the NFCA. Roth, who also was also an NFCA All-South Region first team selection, concluded the year with a .377 average, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI.
 
OWLS RETURN FOUR ASUN CONFERENCE HONOREES
Kennesaw State returns four players who earned ASUN Conference honors following the 2018 season.
 
Seniors Kira Czyrklis (OF, First Team) and Maddie Roth (UT, Second Team), junior Olivia Gocke (OF, Second) and sophomore Lexi Solorzano (C, Freshman Team) highlight the cast of returning players.
 
Roth (Most Valuable Player), Czyrklis and Solorzano were also named the ASUN Championship All-Tournament team.
 
A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE
The Owls' 55-game schedule includes 29 opponents, 20 of which finished the 2018 season with winning records, and 15 clubs that won 30 or game games.
 
The Kennesaw State home schedule includes 28 games, including visits from Ohio (Feb. 9), Hofstra (Mar. 1), Fordham (Mar. 3), Liberty (Mar. 15-16) and North Alabama (Apr. 19-20). All five teams advanced to NCAA postseason play last season, with North Alabama advancing at the NCAA Division II level.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State softball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsSB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
 

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